Chocolate Cherry Mini Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 12 maraschino cherries
• 1 cup all-purpose flour + extra for sprinkling on cherries
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup sour milk or kefir
• 2 tablespoons cherry syrup
• 0.5 tsp of soda
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 110 g salted butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder
• Special equipment: 6-piece mini-muffin pan

Chocolate ganache

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 220 g semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Chop 6 cherries and sprinkle with a little flour to coat. Set aside.
2. Cupcakes:
   
   In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, cherry syrup, baking soda, vanilla, and egg with a fork and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter; add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Add the boiling water to the mixture and let it simmer briefly, then turn off the heat.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until the chocolate cools slightly, then pour in the egg mixture. Add the chopped cherries.
5. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until a cake tester inserted into the pan comes out clean, 20–25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack set on a baking sheet to cool completely.
6. Chocolate ganache:
   
   In a small saucepan, heat the cream until almost boiling, then add the vanilla. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl; stir thoroughly until the chocolate melts.
7. Drizzle the ganache over the cupcakes. Slice the remaining 6 cherries and sprinkle them over the cupcakes. Let the ganache set and serve.